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Monday, 9 April 2018

Virtual Reality And Robots Head For Stockholm In Latest Fashion Week Technology Integration

Virtual reality is the latest plaything of the fashion set, with designers from Tommy Hilfiger to Dior, Rebecca Minkoff and Jean-Pierre Braganza all experimenting with it.
Now, it’s Swedish designer Ida Klamborn’s turn. Where most of her contemporaries have taken VR and applied it as an immersive film experience shot during fashion week and delivered a few months later in time with their collection hitting the shop floor, Klamborn is offering up a real-time initiative live from her front row.

Fans around the world will be able to access the show as it takes place during Fashion Week in Stockholm on February 3 via their mobiles and a Google cardboard set (1,000 of which are being given away by the team behind it). The live-streamed VR experience, running in collaboration with telecom operator Tele2, will then enable them to feel as though they are taking a seat next to some of the industry’s biggest fashion insiders.

Reminiscent of something Topshop did back in February 2014 (where certain fans could wear Oculus Rift headsets in the retailer’s flagship store windows), this project, dubbed the “Democratic Front Row”, takes it one step further. A robot installation will be put in place literally in the front row to symbolise the people tuning in via VR. That’s necessary of course to enable the 360-degree VR cameras to do their thing, but to put a marketing spin on it, Klamborn’s team have managed to convince local celebrities including artists Rebecca & Fiona and stylist Bea Åkerlund to “give up” their seats at the show and hand them over to virtual fans accordingly.
All of that is pushed via a promotional video (as below) that also sees Klamborn explaining why she wanted to make her show a more democratic experience. “I am constantly inspired by youth culture but unfortunately the young fans are seldom seen in the fashion world. Therefore I invite them to my front row to break the traditional structures of the fashion world and show that the future holds so many opportunities,” she adds.

If that wasn’t enough, the robot installation will also serve as an interactive experience for those in attendance by lighting up in response to the reaction of the fans watching. This is achieved based on “likes” gained for each look through the Front Row app that is compatible with Google Cardboard (and will launch on the the App Store and on Google Play ahead of the February 3 date). Klamborn says she will use the resulting data in her evaluation of the show.

Emma Ohlson, secretary general of the Association of Swedish Fashion Brands and organiser of Fashion Week Stockholm, says: “This [fashion] week’s theme is fashion and technology, and Democratic Front Row shows that the Swedish fashion industry is not afraid to break new ground by embracing technology. With this unique virtual reality live-stream, the consumer’s engagement will be measured instantly, which is incredibly useful for brands and something I believe will become [the] norm in the future.”